Scales Under The Skin
by Armor and Soul
Summary: Poor Harry, while trying to relax, has been dragged into taking care of a Lesser Dragon's egg. Meanwhile Malfoy seems paler than usual and Harry gets really attached to the unwelcomed burden. Possible Slash and MalfoyXHarry.
1. Hissing Plight

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J.K Rowlings characters or books.  
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**A/N: **

**Hi guys. My love for reptilians made me try and write a fic with reptilian strange goodness. I must admit that writing Harry Potter Fics is one tough job, with that in mind updates will be very unpredictable in lenght and time. Thats it, R&R Hope ya like it.**

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><p>Scales Under The Skin<p>

Chapter 1

Hissing Plight

The sun shone brightly upon the Hogwarts Castle and lit Harry's face as he is lightly dozing off by the lake. A hundred metres away to his left is the Forbidden Forest with its brooding patience to engulf foolish students. Harry didn't mind his surroundings and just enjoyed the warmth that the sun's rays showered. The 6th year for him started just a week ago, For some reason Malfoy kept looking at him whenever he didn't look and Snape was even a bigger arse than last year and ducked several points for him just making slight noise.

Times like this somehow made things bearable. The summer with the Dursleys was hell and painfull, Harry wonders each summer why Dumbledore always sends him back to that place. After remembering how he was treated made his heart beat faster and being filled with anger and hate. He calmed down as he remembered the reason why he came.

Harry's relaxation was cut short as a high pitched screech reached his ears. His body quickly rose up and green eyes searched for the source. Yet another scream came from his left side. He turned and saw that it came from the Forbidden Forest. It felt very familiar but he couldn't figure out why, all of a sudden his heart started to pump faster and his legs broke off into a run on their own.

Harry watched as his body had the mind of it's own and was running straight towards the forest he hoped not to visit anytime soon.

The screeches led him ever closer to the unknown source. With each step, several metres were traversed, and each jump carefully evaded roots that posed the danger of tripping.

His muscles burned more oxygen than the lungs could provide, leading him to be winded very quickly. What is odd is that he feels despair and fear wash over him as the screeches increased in volume and intervals. It only increased the pace.

After almost having his muscles break apart from the intense running, Harry could have a breather when he reached a small clearing. His nostrils were filled with the smell of blood and smoke. He rose his head to see what happened and saw that the grass and dirt was scorched and several patches of dirt were covered in blood. One of the patches was distinct as it trailed off towards the edge of the clearing, another screech numbed Harry's eardrums. Again his body began to move on it's own, his heart wrenched under the pain and suffering that each call brought with it.

Harry finally reached the source, a reptilian humanoid is sitting with his back against the tree for support. In it's hands is a peculiarly large egg, polka-dotted with red dots across it's cream-brown surface. The colour of the egg matched the scales of the reptile, it's shallow breaths barely showed the scales move across it's chest. The creature noticed the young wizard staring at it with wonder, It's yellow reptilian eyes locked with green.

The dark-haired wizard felt the creature prod his mind until it spoke.

_"You heard my cries?"_

_"That was you?" _Harry responded mentally.

_"Yes, unfortunately I was attacked by hungry Acromantulas, which I didn't know was native to this region."_

Harry felt a pang of guilt, he remembers that Hagrid brought Aragog to Hogwarts. They must have been of Aragog's colony. But what he finds interesting is this reptile infront of him.

_"Umm, what are you?"_

_"I am a Lesser. We descend from dragons. While they are of grander stature, they are hindered with lack of brain power and intelligence, we, on the other hand, traded our strenght for higher consciousness. The egg that you see in my hands is my offspring."_

Harry could see the Lesser's plight but he can't take the egg.

_"By the looks of you, you must be Harry Potter. You are somewhat known in our circles. I can't help but smell something about you, a scent quite intersting."_

_"I am sorry but I can't keep it, if they find it in my school they might send it away or worse."_

_"I must say that either way you will regret it, if you leave me here with the egg it will certainly die, but if you do take it and get caught the result will be the same. I will be dead and my child will have no future. I see that you are a kind-hearted person and an intelligent one at that."_

He had to admit that the Lesser was right. If he left them they would surely die and if he took it and got caught there wouldn't be much difference. The only option he had to evade having a life on his conscience is to take it with him. He could see the reptile grin it's sharp teeth. A bit of anger stirred in Harry for his life was again made harder and out of his control.

_"Take it. It will hatch in several months. Keep it warm, a lit fireplace should be sufficient. Please... make it's life good."_

The reptile's hands went limp as he gave the large egg to the young wizard. His eyes turned murky as death took him away, only a faint ripple in the Vale showed of his passing.

Harry stared at the Lesser for several long moments, yet another death he had to be witness to. It pained him that so much death surrounded him. But this event was somewhat softer for him since he wasn't involved. He clumsily stood up as the egg was quite heavy for it's size. He looked at the marvel in his hands, it's large as Harry's head. Harry's mind was filled with thoughts when the egg will hatch, a small reptile dwarf.

He shook those thoughts away and turned his attention to the dead parent. The least he could do is bury the body, thankfully he had his wand with him and with a few movements, a nice square hole dug itself.

It took a while for the raven haired teen to realize he was still in the Forbidden Forest. Harry's nose wrinkled as again the smell of blood and smoke forced it's way in along with the fresh air.

Thankfully the large Hogwarts Castle is still visible from his point of view and made it easy for him to return. As his autopilot took over to take his safely back to Hogwarts, he put the rest of his attention to think about how he should hide the egg.

He sighed _"What kind of year will this be?"_

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><p><strong>AN:**

**quite short, probably a little rushed? I am preety sure you guys know whats going to happen with Harry and his pet egg. Man its already 1 AM? Time to hit the hay. :)**


	2. I Like Your Scent

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J.K Rowlings characters or books.**

**A/N:**

**Chapter 2 is here, I was stunned when I saw that it's over 2k. I just kept on wiritng. Also thank you all for your faves, it means alot to me :). Please ask if there is anything you don't understand in my writing or explanations.**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

I Like Your Scent

When Harry reached the border of Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest, he had several ideas. The best one was to leave the egg with Hagrid and visit it everyday to see if it's okay. The half-giant is a loyal friend is very unlikely to betray him, besides the large man always wanted a dragon. While others proved to be bothersome and very unlikely to work.

With that settled Harry made his way towards Hagrid's cottage. He knocked on the thick wodden door and could hear clanging. Shortly after the door opened by Hagrid in an apron. He smiled at the raven haired teen.

"Oh, hiya Harry." The large man saw the peculiar egg, "Where did you get that?"

"This is the reason I came to you."

Hagrid realized that he didn't let the boy come in and quickly ran to get a cup of tea.

"Could that be a dragon egg?"

"Yeah but not a normal one." Harry replied before sitting on the couch.

"Normal? I see what ye mean, it's quite large."

"Have you ever heard of a Lesser Dragon?"

"Lesser Dragons? I've never met one but I know they are very rare. You met one?"

"Yes, unfortunately he was attacked by some creatures in the Forbidden Forest," Harry didn't want to burden Hagrid with the fact that Aragog's colony did the deed, "He was injured badly and was carrying this egg. He says that it's his offsrping."

"I would be glad to take care of it for ya." Hagrid offered.

Harry expected that from the half-giant, he could always count on him. He smillingly nodded and proceeded to hand it over.

As Hagrid's fingers touched the smooth surface, Harry could feel nauseous and for some reason afraid. He pulled away the egg and earned a confused look on Hagrid's face. The farther the egg was from the giant, the less nauseous and afraid Harry felt. Hagrid noticed the discomfort on Harry's face.

"Is everything alright, Harry?"

"I don't know..." Harry was slightly disturbed by the sudden feelings for the egg, the thought of giving it to Hagrid was forced to the back of his mind and the very thought of being separated from the egg suddenly became disgusting.

"Maybe we should tell Dumbledore?"

"NO!" Was Harry's outburst, which was unintended, "I mean... He could send it away..."

Hagrid poured another cup of tea and responded "I have known Dumbledore long enough that he wouldn't risk something as precious as a Lesser Dragon's offspring. And the way you are acting is strange. More the reason we tell him."

Harry tightened his hold on the egg as Hagrid stood up. He also stood up, although reluctantly, to show that he will follow. Hagrid patted him on the back before escorting the teen to the Headmaster's office.

xxxxxx

Thankfully, the classes were still in session so no one pestered Harry about the egg he is holding, the large amount of people around the egg would send him puking all over the floor and twitching from the immense fear he would feel. As they finally reached the gargoyle Harry let sighed a breath of relief, but it didn't relieve him of the tension.

Hagrid knocked on the door and entered as he heard "Come in."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he saw The-Boy-who-lived and the thing he is holding, the old man could only assume the reason of the visit is the egg but waited for the groundskeeper to explain.

"Sorry for disturbin' you, sir, but we have something we think we should tell you."

"I assume it's about the egg Harry is holding?"

"Yes it is, sir. Its an egg of a Lesser Dragon. Harry found one of them badly hurt and was given the egg."

"Where did you find it, Harry?" Dumbledore smiled at the teen infront of him. Harry fidgeted slightly before responding.

"In the Forbidden Forest..."

"And what were you doing there?" the Headmaster continued his interrogation.

"I honestly don't know, sir. I heard the Dragon's call and for some reason I ran towards it."

"Uhh, I must be going now, see ya Harry. Headmaster." Hagrid comfortingly patted Harry on the back before excusing himself and left the office.

"Please take a seat." Dumbledore gestured to one of the comfy armchairs infront of his table. Harry sat down and looked at the older man, not sure what will the man's descision be. But if it ends up in sending it away, he would beat the hell out of Dumbledore. Harry sent that message with a glance.

"Have you felt any negative emotions when people approached the egg?"

Harry nodded in response. Dumbledore sighed as he had to explain something he didn't want to, he had a theory about it but there was no hard proof. The old man's eyes became hard and lost it's twinkle that always followed.

"You have bonded with the egg, Harry. No human can do that."

"Bonded? Wait... Are you telling me I am not human?"

"Yes. You are a Lesser Dragon, no other creature can bond with the egg on such a level except one of the same species."

The words that Dumbledore said hit Harry like a sledgehammer, he lost the last small piece that kept him 'normal'. He took comfort that he is a human wizard but that too was now torn away from him. What will Ron and Hermione think of him? A large ball formed in the back of his throat.

"But I don't even look like one!" Harry was desperate to cling onto his humanity.

"A long lasting enchantment was placed on you, to make you look human, I don't know how long will it still last. I am sorry Harry."

Needless to say that Harry was crushed. He weakly stood up, still rigidly holding onto the egg, and left the office without a word. He managed to get to the Gryffindor Common room and to his room without any problems, which he shared with Ron, Seamus and Neville. He looked out the window and saw that it's about 2 o'clock.

Harry crawled into his bed along with the egg and wished that Pompfrey would come and shove a Dreamless Sleep potion down his throat so he wouldn't have nightmares. Before totally falling asleep, he covered the egg so it couldn't be seen and curled up around it, keeping it warm.

xxxxxx

For some reason when Harry woke up, he was quite happy and refreshed. He looked at his clock and saw that it's five in the morning and that his classmates are still fast asleep. He also couldn't help but feel bulkier and heavier, he lovingly looked at the egg in his hands which are scaly. . . Wait scaly?

Harry looked at his hands and found them glowing a dim bronze from the faint light that entered the room through his window. He quickly stood up and inspected his entire body, it is quite muscular and, of course, scaly, his head is a bit elongated but not like of a horse's head, a tail extended from the bottom of his spine and could feel a pair of wings retracted closely with his figure, making them almost non-existent. Panic overwhelmed the young reptile, if Ron saw him, the redhead could blow him away the second he saw him and with all the moving the latter could wake up any second. What is funny is that he isn't worried about his well being, more about the egg he is currently holding and unable to let go of.

The only possible option appeared in his mind, Dumbledore's office. His large leg muscles tensed as he sliently sneaked in an attempt not to wake his classmates. With the click of the door, he quickly dashed towards the portal covered by the Fat Lady, Harry couldn't help but smirk as he heard the woman gasp as she saw what left the Gryffindor Common Room.

Draco sleepily walked through the Hogwarts corridors without much care payed to evading Filch. The lack of sleep is caused by a sense of something missing, it was only lessened when he attended Potion classes. Everyone smell differently, some badly while others not su much. Draco cursed a annoying part of his heritage, he is a Veela, people cursed to find their mate and spend their lives together. Along with the annoying ache his skin became even more pale and his platinum blonde turned completely silver.

He neared the end of the hall where it connected with the large stairwell full of moving staircases, right then did his nose catch a most heavenly smell, scent of cinnamon and rose. He followed the smell and froze as he saw a bronze scaly tail slither behind the corner. It is in the hall which leads to Dumbledore's office. With grace, the blonde took out his wand and followed the creature. It's back is turned towards him but he could see that it isn't much larger than him but could see its quite muscular.

Draco aimed his wand at it with a spell on the tip of his tounge, again the scent graced his nose and it made his muscles unwillingly relax. Killing the creature would be stupid so he decided to use Stupefy.

He called out the spell and sent a scarlet projectile into the creatures back. Unfortunately for Draco it barely had anny effect on it. The reptile turned towards him, it's green eyes quite evident to be layed upon him and in it's hands an egg.

"Bloody-" Draco started to curse. Attacking a creature with it's offsrping was a moronic idea. He moved to run before he felt his chest almost crushed by sudden force. Looked up and saw the creature above him, it's eyes clouded before it realized what it did.

"Oh God! Malfoy?"

Harry quickly reached the staircases, strangely each hall he passed was absent of Filch, not one. When he reached the staircase, his legs practicly jumped from one staircase to another. Harry enjoyed the adrenalin rush and wondered how effortlessly he did those stunts, another smile graced his lips revealing sharp teeth. He looked like a flying hunk of bronze with each jump keeping his egg safely close to his chest. With just a few leaps he reached the corridor he wanted to reach.

The Dragon stopped as a peculiar scent got to him, smells like cinnamon and rose. It did wonders to his muscles as they relaxed and his mind was eased as it washed away his worries. It took him several moments to realize he is against time and has to get to Dumbledore's office, he started towards the garoglye a hundred feet away. Suddenly a familiar word reached his ears, "Stupefy!"

Shortly after the spell hit him in the back, it dazed him faintly but not enough to take him out. Harry turned towards the wizard behind him, laying eyes on the person made him lose his sight, all was black. He lost his breath when he found himself on top of Malfoy, awoken by a jolt.

"Oh God! Malfoy?" was Harry's reaction, his nostrils were filled with the smell of cinnamon and rose. Malfoy looked at him with fear evident in his eyes, what will the beast do to him?

Harry started to panic. He hurt a student! And who else than Draco Malfoy, to be put it mildly, his entire life just turned to shit. His mind was filled with images with him being in a cage or, worse, in Azkaban while the egg dies without his care. No, he can't let that happen.

Harry returned his attention towards Malfoy and slightly eased a bit as the blonde smelled so strangely, he picked Draco of the floor without much effort and locked green with gray. If Harry wasn't so desperate he would even get lost in the midst of those beutiful eyes. . . Is he complementing Malfoy?

"Are you alright?" Harry's voice sounded soft despite the roughness accompanied with it.

Draco was stunned that the creature could speak the human language so fluently, as a response he nodded. He could feel the creature relax even more.

"Good..." Harry sighed as he thought of a solution for this problem, the only thing he could do is meet Dumbledore along with Malfoy, he couldn't help but sneer.

Harry couldn't help but wonder how will his life go on in this form, how will Ron and Hermione react now? The most likely action was to curl up in a corner and cry, but doing that is pointless. Harry mentally chuckled how the only thing he can think about is the egg.

Obviously Draco is afraid, who could blame him. Standing beside a reptile that in a matter of seconds bashed you against the floor isn't very comforting but the strange scent of cinnamon and rose kept both of them somewhat relaxed, making the Veela and Lesser baffeled.

The gargolye moved away as the pair approached, Draco posed no resistance and Harry was surprised. It didn't last long as he knew that Dumbledore is aware of his predicament, manipulating old coot. He let Malfoy ascend the stairs first just in case he doesen't try anything, Harry doesen't want the situation to worsen. A thought in Harry's mind echoed

_"I like his scent."_

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Harry is a bit more animalistic, and thats what I like about this story. Again thank you guys for the faves :).**


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